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ArchivesRe: Tonning (German)
in reply to a message by Bobby Darin
According to Berger, Geographische Namen in Deutschland, the place-name Tonning is from:
Middle Low German "tun" (fence, garden). The book says that there is the same word in Old English, but I don't know what the equivalent in modern English would be; in modern German you have "Zaun" (fence).
Middle Low German "tun" (fence, garden). The book says that there is the same word in Old English, but I don't know what the equivalent in modern English would be; in modern German you have "Zaun" (fence).
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Equivalent in modern English is ... town!
The modern English word 'town' and the modern German word 'Zaun' (meaning 'fence') seem to have a common root. It looks like the two languages diverged from a core meaning of "fenced settlement" into two directions, with English stressing the "settlement" part and German stressing the "fence" part.
See e.g. here:
http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/Town
The modern English word 'town' and the modern German word 'Zaun' (meaning 'fence') seem to have a common root. It looks like the two languages diverged from a core meaning of "fenced settlement" into two directions, with English stressing the "settlement" part and German stressing the "fence" part.
See e.g. here:
http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/Town
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